Strategic planning in subsidiaries of multinationals in China: an empirical analysis of intra-organisational knowledge transfer

Abstract

This paper examines the transfer of a particular kind of knowledge: strategic planning competencies in subsidiaries of multinational companies (MNCs) in China. We develop an integrative research model on the facilitators of intra-organisational knowledge transfer between the MNC parent and their subsidiaries. To test our hypotheses, we draw on data from a survey among managers of German MNCs in China, using PLS structural equation modelling. Our findings suggest that the willingness to acquire strategic planning knowledge, measured as the proven value of knowledge, is the most important enabler of strategic planning competencies at local subsidiaries, followed by the management support of the MNC parent as indicator of the MNCs capacity to transfer strategic planning knowledge, as well as the relationship between the MNC parent and the subsidiary. Finally, our findings support the importance of decentralised strategic planning for the Chinese subsidiaries' performance.